Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum First Clashed Over Catholic Church Child Abuse Scandal

The political theatrics between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have, so far, been kept to a minimum, owing primarily to the latter’s recent climb to frontrunner status in Iowa. But after the GOP primary moves beyond the Iowa caucuses, the two are expected to engage with one another more sharply.

The two candidates are, in many respects, a study in contrasts. Santorum’s social conservative bonafides are complemented by a campaign style heavy on retail politics. Romney’s business background blends smoothly with a campaign that’s been built on well-moneyed machinery and equally well-funded attack ads. That Santorum endorsed Romney’s candidacy in 2008 complicates matters for him, though it seems unlikely that any voter would consider that a disqualifier during this election cycle.

Hoping to get a sense of how the two might wage the next week or so of campaigning, The Huffington Post searched through newspaper archives for times when they may have butted heads. Only one such conflict came up.

When the Catholic Church child abuse scandal began garnering major national attention in the early 2000s, Santorum insinuated that liberalism was to blame, speciously pointing to the fact that many instances of abuse were being reported in Massachusetts.

“While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm,” the senator wrote in July 2002.

Romney, who would become governor of Massachusetts months later, was, naturally, not pleased.

“Senator Santorum is a fine person, and we’re all entitled to make a mistake once in a while,” Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s spokesman then and now, told local press at the time. [more]

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HuffPost Politics